3. System Integration: “Our website and CRM don’t talk to each other.”

Ever downloaded a CSV from one system and uploaded it into your CRM?

I thought so. We all have had that *pleasure*.

If systems don’t talk, they suck up valuable staff resources. Now’s the time to get serious about integration. Investing some money today will pay off in the long run.

4. Staff Training: “I can’t update our website content.”

In the age of content marketing, control of your website is a must. Your visitors expect fresh content constantly.

Bottom line:

Make sure you you get trained on how to manage your website.

Great, I have my obstacles, now what?

It’s important to provide context to the obstacles. Once identified, it’s important to better understand how they contribute to your goals not getting met.

For example: “I spend so much time downloading and uploading CSV’s to our CRM, that I can’t follow-up to thank our donors.”

Know Your Audience

I can’t stress how important this element is:

It’s hard to engage an audience that you don’t fully understand. Take the time to get to know and understand them. Your success counts on it.

Your organization should have a clear description for each audience group your work with and the top 3 things that you want them to do.

Do you know what they do on your site currently?

Do you know what you WANT them to do on your site?

Notice: there is a big difference between what they do, and what you’d like them to do. This is an important distinction.

How do you measure success on our website?

It’s hard to measure if you never set goals.

We find that many people don’t set goals because they don’t want to know if they’re not meeting them. Failure is not celebrated enough.

Failure to meet a goal can be as bad as blowing a goal out of the water because maybe you set your expectations too low.

At the end of the day, you need establish what you’re going to measure and how you’re going to measure it.

How to get started

Getting this conversation started can be difficult, especially in an organization that has a lot of voices to be heard. Here are some keys:

Set expectations that you would like to hear all staff thoughts on these matters, but not all suggestions provided will be implemented on the new website. It’s important to establish this early and often.

Internal surveys can be helpful to facilitate this process.

Make sure to engage senior staff early in the planning process. Getting their buy-in on the project is extremely important.

Download our comprehensive guide that breaks down the technology and strategies into easy to follow steps. The solutions are simpler than you think.

Andrew Goldsworthy

Andrew has over 15 years experience in user interface and online marketing strategy for social entrepreneurs and nonprofits. He has also worked extensively in fund development and online marketing for Habitat for Humanity. Andrew is passionate about using the power of technology to empower mission driven organizations and social business. He's also an avid outdoorsman. Frequently camping, skiing, fishing and fending off mosquitos.